A recent article in the
Times about middle aged skaters prompted me to dig out archival evidence of my own short lived career as a skate punk.
In the mid 1980s there was a boom in half pipe construction in my hometown of Richland, Washington.
My favorite ramp, located a block from my house, was built by classmate Nate Mendel, a member of the local punk band Diddly Squat and future bassist for the Foo Fighters.
While tiny, the Diddly Squat ramp was easy to ride and provided key access to Nate’s mother’s collection of LPs.
As it were, I preferred skate clothing (emphasis on vintage cardigans, madras shorts and Converse low tops)
and skate culture (zines, tunes, shows and shops) to skating itself.
My friends and I referred to ourselves the Asphalt Flowers and spent most of our time coaching each other and documenting our efforts with a poor quality Ricoh point and shoot.
Many of the best ramps and skate spots were located in new housing developments on the edge of town.
"Dance of the lens cap"
Shaky on my pins in 2012
A recent article in the Times about middle aged skaters prompted me to dig out archival evidence of my own short lived career as a skate punk. 
In the mid 1980s there was a boom in half pipe construction in my hometown of Richland, Washington. My favorite ramp, located a block from my house, was built by classmate Nate Mendel, a member of the local punk band Diddly Squat and future bassist for the Foo Fighters. While tiny, the Diddly Squat ramp was easy to ride and provided key access to Nate’s mother’s collection of LPs. 
As it were, I preferred skate clothing (emphasis on vintage cardigans, madras shorts and Converse low tops) and skate culture (zines, tunes, shows and shops) to skating itself. 
My friends and I referred to ourselves the Asphalt Flowers and spent most of our time coaching each other and documenting our efforts with a poor quality Ricoh point and shoot.
Many of the best ramps and skate spots were located in new housing developments on the edge of town. 
"Dance of the lens cap"
Shaky on my pins in 2012
1 comment:
Great walk down memory lane. I spent the entire 1980's on a skateboard, building ramps with friends, punk/hardcore shows, etc. Wouldn't trade those memories for anything. And Nate was also in Sunny Day Real Estate & Brotherhood (Seattle Straight Edge!) :)
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